Oxfam says Palestinian life "worse now" than when Oslo Accord was signed

Oxfam has said that life for the Palestinians is worse now than when the Oslo Accord was signed 20 years ago. The current negotiations, claimed the aid organisation, have to compensate for 20 years of missed opportunities in the light of Israel’s settlement policies and house demolitions, along with all of the other restrictions placed on the people of Palestine.

In a report published to coincide with Oslo’s 20th anniversary, Oxfam pointed out that since 1993 Israel has doubled the number of illegal settlers from 260,000 to over 520,000 and expanded the area controlled by settlements to over 42 per cent of Palestinian land. A system of checkpoints and other restrictions on Palestinian movement and trade has divided families and decimated the economy.

The charity warned about ongoing settlement expansion during the current peace talks. In the past six weeks, Israel has approved the construction of at least 3,600 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and demolished 36 Palestinian homes.